Scientific Positions

The Department of Agroecology, Aarhus University, is looking for one to two dedicated senior researcher/associate professors within the area nitrogen cycling in cropping systems with legumes.

Research area and duties
Nitrogen cycling in agroecosystems in relation to productivity and environmental impacts constitutes a core research area in the overall research and educational portfolio of the Department of Agroecology, and aligns closely with the obligations of the department to support authorities and the agroindustry with research based policy support. Both in conventional and organic farming, grassland legumes play an important role with small external inputs, and grain legumes have the potential to replace imported protein. The perspective of the senior reseacher or associate professorship is to strengthen ongoing research in plant-soil nitrogen cycling with particular emphasis on the legume component of cropping systems.

The mission of the senior researcher or associate professorship will be basic and applied research on grain and forage legumes and their impact on the productivity and sustainability of cropping systems with particular emphasis on the fate of legume derived nitrogen in the soil. The duties include teaching and supervision of undergraduates, PhD students and post docs. The senior researcher or associate professorship involves theoretical and experimental research on the role of legumes in plant production, the impact of legumes on soil fertility, and mitigation of the environmental load of legume based cropping systems. The duties also include participation in research-based advice and policy support to national authorities and the agro-industry. The senior researcher or associate professorship shall encourage cross-disciplinary research, and through international cooperation’s attract research funding from national and international sources.

Qualifications required
The successful candidate must be committed and possess relevant academic qualifications and a proven record of scientific achievements at international level within carbon and nitrogen cycling in agroecosystems with legumes. Further professional and personal qualifications are emphasized:
- PhD degree or equivalent qualifications within agroecology or soil science
- A scientific record of international standard within central parts of the research area
- A proven record in planning, implementing, managing, and developing research projects
- Proven teaching qualifications at university level and experience in attracting and supervising bachelor, master and PhD students
- Ability to implement interdisciplinary research and strengthen national and international cooperation within the research area
- Interest in and ability to give research based advise and policy support within the research area
- Documented ability to attract research funding from national and international sources
- Experience in communication of research outputs
- Enthusiastic personality
- Willingness to collaborate with others and to participate actively in teams

Furthermore we are looking for a reliable person who can contribute positively to the working environment and who can be a role model for young scientists.

Place of Work and area of Employment
The place of work is Blichers Allé 20, DK-8830 Tjele, and the area of employment is Aarhus University with related departments.

Further information on the position may be obtained from:
Head of the Soil Fertility Section, Professor Jørgen Eriksen (Jorgen.eriksen@agro.au.dk)

Expected time for interviews is September 2017.

The intended starting date is January 1st 2018 or as soon as possible thereafter.
Research environment
The Department of Agroecology carries out research in agroecology, that is to say the interaction between plants, animals, humans and the environment within agroecosystems for the production of food, feed, energy and biobased products. We contribute to sustainable production and growth via excellent research, advice and teaching.

The vision of the department is to belong to the elite of research institutions that work with agroecosystems and aims to create, develop and transfer ground-breaking knowledge that can promote society's bioeconomy nationally and internationally.
The Department of Agroecology offers a dynamic and informal working environment with a good work-life-balance.

Application procedure
Short-listing is used. This means that after the deadline for applications – and with the assistance from the assessment committee chairman, and the assessment committee if necessary, – the head of department selects the candidates to be evaluated. The selection is made on the basis of an assessment of who of the candidates are most relevant considering the requirements of the advertisement. All applicants will be notified within 6 weeks whether or not their applications have been sent to an expert assessment committee for evaluation. The selected applicants will be informed about the composition of the committee and will receive his/her assessment. Once the recruitment process is completed a final letter of rejection is sent to the deselected applicants, including the main considerations emphasized during the selection process.

The application must be in English and include a curriculum vitae, degree certificate, a complete list of publications, a statement of future research plans and information about research activities, teaching portfolio and verified information on previous teaching experience (if any). Guidelines for applicants can be found here.

The application should include names and e-mail addresses of three people who can provide a letter of reference upon request. Please provide your ResearcherID, ORCID, Google Scholar profile link, and/or a unique search query in Web of Science to retrieve your publication and citation track record.

Aarhus University is an academically diverse and research-intensive university with
a strong commitment to high-quality research and education and the development of society
nationally and globally. The university offers an inspiring research and teaching environment
to its 40,000 students and 8,000 employees, and has an annual budget of EUR 860 million
Learn more at www.au.dk/en.